The One Who Chose
by Hogwarts730
Summary: This is also on my wattpad but I felt i should add it on here too! A girl who was raised in an orphanage all her life meets a Second Year rather roughly and he doesn't give her the chance to talk but she wants to say she's sorry for whatever she did wrong. Ethel Jones just wants to belong somewhere. DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN ANY HP CHARACTERS AND I SUCK AT SUMMARIES!
1. Chapter 1: The Not So Nice

July 25, 1972. 1pm.

"You are certain she has a place at your school? No matter what I tell you?" A young woman asked the aged man behind her office desk.

"Of course, she has had her name down since she was born." The tall man, with a long silvery beard told her, smiling kindly.

"There are things... dark things that girl does." The caretaker of the orphanage muttered darkly.

"Like what?" Dumbledore kept his voice steady, unfazed by this news. Many new witches and wizards did not know how to control their powers and in doing so may cause unnatural things to happen.

"Well.. she scares the children. She does something.. I don't know what but they don't talk to her."

"That's interesting." Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Oh! She's still excepted at You're school isn't she?" The woman asked nervously.

"Definitely." Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. I mean she needs some sort of education besides the books we have. She doesn't like the school we send the children to.. last time we sent her there one of our caretakers resined. The poor dear was so scared." The woman sighed.

"The girl?" He asked, intrigued now.

"No, the woman!" She said scandalized.

There was a pause as Dumbledore thought, "can I speak with her? About her position in the school."

"Oh, yes, let me take you to her room." The caretaker shimmied out from behind her office desk.

The woman lead him up two flights of stairs before she turned to the door first in the hallway. The stairs and hallways were just as dark and gloomy as the caretakers office.

"She's just in there." The woman opened the door and left.

Dumbledore creaked the door open wider smiling kindly at the blonde haired girl with pale skin and dark eyes that was sitting on her bed; the book she was reading nestled between her knees.

"Hello Ethel," he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.

The girl looked lazily up from her book, turning the page, "who are you?" Her voice was light but dull at the same time, there was no life behind her words.

"I'm Professor Dumbledore," he walked and sat at the edge of the girl's bed.

"I didn't say you could sit down, Doctor." She said in the same lazy tone, Dumbledore took the seat attached to a small desk.

"Doctor?" Dumbledore asked her.

"That's what 'Professor' means doesn't it?" For the first real time she looked at him, her dark eyes narrowed, "they want me looked at. Think I'm evil all because I don't like children." She sneered.

"Why is that?" He pressed, watching her go back to her book.

"I don't feel like talking, Doctor." She turned the page again.

"Would it make you want to talk if I told you I was a teacher. Of a magic school." He added at her glare again.

She stopped reading and put the book down on her bed, "Magic? There's no such thing. You can leave now." She was now turned to him scanning his face, looking for something to prove him wrong. That he was in fact a doctor.

"But I am not lying, the school is called Hogwarts." He smiled at her, seeming to take that she was interested.

"Prove it then, I'll talk after, if you can't I wish for you to leave and never come to talk to me again, no matter how much the nurses are paying."

"Bold coming from such a young girl," Dumbledore said darkly.

"I have my ways, Professor." She spoke, the words ominous.

At those words Dumbledore lit the book on her bed a flame, "how dare you!" She shrieked, looking murderous.

The flames died away and the book was unscathed.

"That, my dear, is just a simple parlor trick," Dumbledore said simply, "however if you come to Hogwarts and learn along side of other magical children you will know of a lot more things."

It was Ethel's turn to be intrigued, "is this why I can do the things I do? If I don't feel like talking I can make people's mouths sew shut, or how the other day I made the lion at the zoo roll over?" She asked almost feverishly looking down at her hands.

"Yes, that is, however I didn't just come here to tell you of the school, I came to take you school shopping if you accept of course?" He looked at her, a twinkle in his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles.

"Of course! Anything to leave here." She started getting up.

"There is one condition," Dumbledore said getting up and looking down at her, "because I am a teacher you must treat me so, along with any of the teachers at Hogwarts."

"Of course, sir." She said instantly.

"Good. Now, let's go tell that kind lady downstairs where we're going shall we?"

He did not get an answer as Ethel was already by the steps of the stairs.

"Sir? ...oh never mind." She said as she glanced nervously down at the steps.

"What is it?" He asked, looking down at her, his eyes now scanning her face.

"What if you're wrong? About me being magic? What if I am just.. looney?"

There was yet another pause as Dumbledore chose his next words carefully,

"There is a book, in Hogwarts, locked away where nobody can find it, when a child of magic is born in Britain, Scotland, or Ireland, it writes their name down. They then are added to the roster in which year they shall arrive."

Dumbledore peered down at her, watching her eyes shimmer with excitement and wonder.

They left the orphanage shortly after, Ethel following the strange aged man, interested in everything around her. She was caught up in everything, and had to jog to keep up with the professor's strides.

"This place we are going to, it has all of the things you will be needing for school, but it can only be seen by those who are magic, whether half-giant or goblin or wizard or witch, you will see it." Dumbledore explained as they followed the twists and turns of the London streets.

Finally they arrived at The Leaky Cauldron, a ramshackle of a pub.

"It's good to see you Albus! I haven't seen you much besides in the paper now with your new Headmaster job and all!" Said the barman behind the counter.

"I'll try to come by again before term begins, but I really must be going. I'm taking this young lady school shopping." Dumbledore replied, placing a gentle had on Ethel's shoulder. She remained cold and didn't move when people waved at her kindly.

She exhibited the same behavior as to when Dumbledore first arrived, he frowned slightly.

"Alright then, I'll have the mead waiting for you then!" The man behind the bar said cheerfully and Dumbledore smiled at him and left, steering Ethel with him.

They walked out to the back and were surrounded by brick wall, Ethel looked at him curiously and was about to ask what they were doing, but Dumbledore simply took out his wand and tapped the brick and the wall slowly spread apart. Folding into itself it formed an archway.

What it revealed almost made Ethel squeal with delight, rows upon rows, shops and cafe's and a bank and it was all so colorful so much different then her plain grey room.

Dumbledore handed her a note, it had all the things she needed for school written on it and a sudden realization hit Ethel like a bullet, she felt sad, suddenly.

She handed the paper back to him and said softly, "I can't afford any of this," and turned around prepared to go back into the bar and back to the orphanage.

"Don't be silly," said Dumbledore grabbing her by the shoulder and producing a small leather pouch from his cloak and handed it to her.

Ethel didn't know what to say, so she just took the money and nodded him a quick thanks and was off finding all the stores. Glancing down at the page every so often.

Seeing as Madam Malkin's was empty at the moment she might as well go in and get fitted for her robes, so she went into the small little shop, the bell above the door rang short as the door was caught by a boy.

He couldn't have been a year older than she was, although complete opposite of what she looked like, they were both pale, but where she had blonde hair he had black and greasy, where she had almond color eyes his were black empty pits.

"Next time hold the door open for someone right behind you," He sneered, seeming to be sizing her up.

"I didn't see you," she said defiantly as he shoved passed her.

Madam Malkin was already sizing someone, hemming the ends of the girls robes she turned slightly, "I'll be with you both in just a moment deary's."

They sat and as they did so the boy pulled out an abnormally large book titled: Standard Book Of Spells Grade 2.

"Is that book interesting?" She asked skimming over the first few sentences on the next page.

"I didn't come here to make small talk," the boy sneered again.

"Of course you didn't, with an attitude like that it's a wonder how people even talk to you in the first place." She jeered back at him.

The boy was about to retort but Malkin had called them both to each stand. She measured each, made each one robes, all the while the children did not look at each other.

When she left, Dumbledore had maneuvered her through the crowd to Olivanders, a wand shop.

Olivander was a strange old man, even more strange then Dumbledore. Ethel had to go through three wands before she found her own.

Thestral with oak wood, ten inches.

"There aren't many Thestral cores in here my dear, treat it with the utmost respect and it shall do anything you ask." Olivander said handing her the wand.

"I will sir, thank you." And with that she left.

The next stop was Flourish and Blotts, to grab all of her school books, and then another store to grab all the necessity's like quills and parchment and cauldrons and other things.

It was another hour before Ethel got where she really wanted to check out. The Magical Menagerie.

She walked aimlessly through the aisles of the place scanning the animals in their cages. She was stuck between a cat or an owl.

Owls were more useful but Dumbledore had mentioned that there were school owls she could use lest she need to mail something. A cat she could cuddle and love on more.

Then she saw it, a slim black cat with great big crystal blue eyes, "This one," she said pointing to it.

The owner of the shop came over and took the cage down from the shelf for them and Ethel paid for the animal with the last five Galleons and ten Sickles she had.

Carrying all these things was a great difficulty, and she didn't want to put them in her trunk yet, so Dumbledore conjured her a seemingly endless rucksack where she then put everything in there except the cat and the trunk.

They walked back through the crowd and Ethel was side glancing at everyone, scanning for that boy at Malkin's he seemed to have most of his things already so maybe he had already left with his parents.

They walked back through the bar and through the winding streets of London, now seeming so boring and cold after being through Diagon alley.

They walked back up the steps of the orphanage and went to her room, however before Dumbledore left he stopped and turned towards Ethel.

"There is a train ticket in there in order to get onto the train to Hogwarts, in order to get there you have to run between the barriers of trains nine and ten. You have to be there before eleven and the date in which you go will be in that letter I gave you. Understand?"

Ethel nodded wildly.

"See you again Miss Jones at the beginning of term." He smiled and was about to walk out before Ethel caught him.

"Thank you for the money sir, I'll pay you back when I get a job." She didn't look at him, she was scuffing her feet along the carpeted floor.

"There is no need for that, Hogwarts always puts aside a little money for those who can't provide for themselves."

"Then I'll donate to that money when I'm older." She said defiantly.

Dumbledore merely smiled at her and shut the door behind him.

Ethel sat there for a moment, staring at the door and then she grabbed everything out of her rucksack and began to organize everything in her trunk, letting the cat out as she did so it purred and wound itself over and over around her feet.

A: Sorry for that extremely long chapter, but nevertheless I hope you liked it.

Please comment your thoughts( I love reading them) and vote if you enjoy!

Love ya ️

-Maddie


	2. Chapter 2: The Boy and Girl

Ethel prowled the rows of compartments on the train, looking for an empty one. She spotted one near the end and without looking took the seat closest to the sliding door.

"I didn't invite you in," sneered a familiar voice, Ethel looked to her right, there closest to the window on the opposite seat was the boy from the robe shop.

"I didn't ask to be invited in," she jeered back at him and opened her Defense Against The Dark Arts book she had gotten at Flourish and Blotts.

The boy grimaced and turned away from her, looking longingly out the window.

The silence didn't last long as she said, "if you will let me speak this time, I'm sorry that I didn't open the door for you."

The boy smirked, "I nearly forgot about that."

There was silence again. The silence didn't last for very long as four rather rambunctious boys came tumbling into the compartment.

"It's nice to see you Snivellus." The ring leader of the boys, with big round glasses and tussled hair said with an evil laugh behind his words.

"Potter," the boy from the robe shop acknowledged him, and turned away again.

"It will be a lot of fun messing with you this year," Potter said again with a laugh.

"What kind of stuff will we pull this year boys?" He asked the group.

"I know! Let's tear his precious Potions book to shreds." Said the boy closest to Potter, he had long black hair but where the boy she was talking to earlier had greasy hair, this boy's hair was very well kept. He was rugged and handsome.

"Or we could yank his underwear down like last year, just this time in front of the whole school." Said a very blonde boy from the back of the group.

"This is all very nice, but can you please leave!" Barked Ethel finally having enough.

All of the boys rounded on her, apparently surprised that their capture had a visitor.

"Well, well, well, Snivellus has got a friend." Said the ring leader.

"I mean, honestly, you are going to rough him up, Benjamin Franklin, or what about you Piggy, or the redneck?" She pointed to each boy who had spoken those nasty words.

She got up, "as far as I know he hasn't done anything wrong. Now get out before I shove my boot where the sun don't shine." She glared at each one, watching the plump boy in the back quiver.

"You better hope you don't end up in Gryffindor," The one she had called 'redneck' muttered darkly.

" If you lot are in that group then you better hope I don't get in Gryffindor." She snarled.

Glaring at her, they left the compartment.

She sat down when the one who hadn't spoken had stumbled out of the compartment.

"I could've handled them on my own," jeered the boy.

"As far as I am concerned it certainly didn't look it. Snape." She added.

"How did you know?" He asked, looking away from the window.

"I'm not daft, it's on your case." She pointed to the trunk above his head. Sure enough the initials of S. Snape were facing her.

"Well what's your's then?" He narrowed his eyes at her case, but she hadn't put the stickers on them yet.

"Jones," she said simply, "generic Jones," she sighed, glancing back down at her book.

Snape looked back out the window at the dark sky looming over them, "we better get our robes on, we'll be arriving soon."

"Alright then," she pulled her trunk down and placed the book back in it and pulled her robes over her clothes. Placing the trunk back on the rack, she turned around.

"I take it your real name isn't Snivellus?" She smiled kindly at him.

"That's all their doing," he nodded toward the compartment door.

"What is it then?" She asked, curious.

"Severus," he shrugged.

"That sounds a lot better then my name." Ethel reassured him.

"What is it?" He asked, showing real interest for the first time the whole train ride.

"Ethel," she said simply.

"It's not too bad." He smirked and the train lurched to a stop.

"This is where we part I guess," Ethel turned and was about to leave the compartment.

"It was nice meeting you Jones," Snape stuck out his hand for her to shake, she took it.

"It was a pleasure meeting you too, Snape." She smirked and then they turned their backs and went in opposite directions.

A: I know really short considering last chapter but I hope you are liking it so far.

You likely noticed that in my last chapter I said 'comment and vote' that is how it works for Wattpad and seeing as I just copied and pasted it, I completely forgot about that so let me just redo it:

Please leave reviews!

Love ya ️

-Maddie


	3. Chapter 3: Sorting Ceremony

Ethel's palms were sweaty as she stood there waiting for her name to be called.

She waited and waited, it got to the point where she even started questioning if the book was wrong.

It got down to four people before finally she heard her name leave the strict woman's mouth.

"Jones, Ethel."

She walked up to the stool, thinking wildly.

Where ever this hat places her decides if she knows everything about what is going on, all the gossip or none at all; decides who her friends are and so forth, for the next seven years.

She sits on the stool, her hands gripping at the edges so tight she was sure her knuckles were white. The hat slid over her head, her eyes covered by the inside of the hat.

"Bold like Gryffindor... Smart like Ravenclaw... Loyal like Hufflepuff... and ambitious like Slytherin; but which are you more of my dear?" A voice asked her, she didn't answer, she had no idea what to say, finally she muttered:

"I trust you to put me in the right place."

"RAVENCLAW!!" The shout echoed off the walls and bounced back over the cheering table in the middle.

The hat was lifted off her head and she was able to see the room around her again; she took a deep breath and smiled feeling the weight lift from her shoulders.

Ethel left to the Ravenclaw table, greeting her fellow House mates.

She was happy and looking around she noticed Snape wasn't in Ravenclaw. She felt as though someone was weighing her down to the floor with a bag of stones.

Looking over at the Ravenclaw heads she saw Snape smirk at her from his spot at the Slytherin table, she smiled widely at him.

"Welcome children, those who are new and those who have come back for yet another year at Hogwarts!" Called Dumbledore and all noise stopped.

"For you new First Years I must warn you, the forest on the edge of grounds, you are not to go near, lest you wish to provoke the beasts within! There is a tree as well, the Whomping Willow, as its name suggests it is best to steer clear unless you wish to be beaten to death." Ethel shivered at these words as many first years had.

"Now let the feast begin! I'm sure you are all very hungry." At a sweep of his arms around the room food began to appear on the plates, and all sorts of drinks filled their goblets.

"Hello, I'm one of Ravenclaw's prefects, Carter." A boy with brown hair and blue eyes held out his hand.

"Oh! I'm Ethel," she said quickly putting her fork down and taking his hand.

"The other prefect is down there, her name is Angelina." He said pulling his hand away from her's and pointing down the table sure enough, there was a tall dark haired girl with dark eyes, talking and eating amongst the other first years.

"How old do you have to be in order to be a prefect?" She asked curiously, turning her attention back to him.

"Looking to become one already are you?" He chuckled, but moved on before she could answer, "you have to be a 5th year before you can even be advocated to become a prefect, from then on Dumbledore chooses a boy and a girl who represent their House well and they become the prefects.

"Of course there is also The Head Boy and Girl, but instead of their being two from each House there is only two through out the entire school."

"Woah.." Ethel said, awestruck.

"I know." The prefect said simply and went back to eating.

"What you do as a prefect?" Ethel asked after thinking of the question as she ate pudding.

"Oh you know, make sure no students are out after hours, you escort the First Years to the common room, you're allowed to change the password in order to get into the common room..." He trailed off, waving a dismissive hand.

"And the Head Boy and Girl?" She asked. Ethel saw the prefect smile at her interest.

"They tell us prefects when to patrol the corridors on the train, and they look after the students if something bad happens and the teachers are busy.. they do mostly what prefects do but they can actually take away House points if they have a good reason."

"That's cool." Ethel said, thinking on all of the information that was just thrown at her.

"Looks like it's time we go, come on, I'll take you to the dormitories." He smiled kindly down at her, she copied him.

Sneaking another look in Snape's direction, she followed the hoard of Ravenclaw's out of the Great Hall up to Ravenclaw Tower.

When they got to the entrance there was no lock or key-hole to the door with a bronze eagle door knocker.

The door spoke, having no mouth it said: "I can breathe but never talk, I can run but never walk, I can be picked but never chosen. What am I?"

Angelina simply said, "a nose."

A few children laughed and the door opened revealing a very open room with a dome shaped ceiling, stars and constellations on it. Outside the room they were surrounded by mountains.

"Boys on the right, girls on the left." Said Carter pointing down the hallways.

The girls left and opened a door marked "First Years". There were seven fourposter beds crammed into the room, the same star-like ceiling.

Without talking to anyone, Ethel climbed in her bed and pulled her cat out from its cage and began to cuddle it. She felt the cat's rumble of a purr against her chest before she fell asleep.

A: There, a little longer than chapter 2 as always please leave reviews ( I love reading them)

Love ya ️!

-Maddie


	4. Chapter 4: The Many Interruptions

Ethel sat under a tree by the Great Lake as she finished her Transfiguration homework, to describe how to transfigure her animal into a goblet in a step by step process so even, given the right tools, a Muggle could do it.

"What are you doing here?" At the sudden harsh tone she looked up with a confused look.

It was the boys from the train, all four of them, she frowned.

"Am I doing something wrong?" She asked with innocence.

"You're sitting under our tree," said the one she had come to know as Black.

She humored him, looking around, "I don't see your names on them."

"Honestly girl, that's our tree, and you need to move!" Barked Potter suddenly and her eyes narrowed.

"There are plenty of other trees around here Potter, there are no names on certain trees and I will not move."

"Let's just leave her," offered Lupin.

"Why, she's no worse than Snivellus," Potter scoffed at Lupin's politeness.

"Yes, Lupin why do you insist on showing a heart if your companions do not?" Ethel looked at him, he blushed slightly as to being put on the spotlight.

"I think it's quite unfair to treat a girl like yourself in the brutal way that we treat Snape," he said quietly.

Ethel smiled as she saw Severus walk down the path to the grounds from the entrance hall and caught his eye, he frowned, his version of a smile.

"You have very good morals Lupin, and I do believe you will do well to teach your mates that. Now if you three don't mind, I have a friend I need to speak with," as she got up she marched up to Potter and gave him a hard glare, "and you can have your _bloody_ tree."

"She's feisty, I like it," she heard Black mutter as she left them.

"She's only got eyes for Snivellus, besides, she looks too much like a Malfoy for me to fancy her anyway," She heard Potter say.

"How was History?" She asked as she reached Snape.

"Dismal as always, how was Potions?" His voice was a drawl as Ethel had grown accustomed to over the last few weeks of her arriving at Hogwarts.

"It's okay, I like the subject, I just don't like Professor Slughorn," she sighed.

"Imagine him being the Head of your House," Severus pointed out in dismay.

"Oh, that's right, I had forgotten," Ethel mentally facepalmed, "that has to be one of the very few advantages Ravenclaw has over Slytherin."

"You think Slytherin has more advantages over other Houses?" He seemed intrigued and he had stopped to search her expression to see if she was lying or somehow joking.

"Well of course I do, think about it: Ravenclaw, because we're known for being smart we are instantly labeled as stuck-ups where Slytherin can be smart and you're called cunning. Slytherin's can be brave like Gryffindor too but you think it through and don't like to parade in it like Potter and his gang. And though you don't think about it, you've been a great friend to me just like a Hufflepuff, so there, all the advantages to being in Slytherin House." She explained all in one breath, much, she had been told, was Ravenclaw's style.

"Even though you've thought this through, and I approve of your thinking method," Severus said as he continued to walk satisfied that he had searched her face long enough to know she wasn't joking, "you left out something, and in no way is it small."

"And what's that?" She asked, thinking back on everything she claimed, she was certain she didn't miss anything.

"Most of us, because of our families and their alliances with the Dark Lord, will become Death Eaters," His voice sounded cold, the drawl leaving him for a moment.

Ethel shivered, being raised by Muggles when she first came to Hogwarts she had no idea who the Dark Lord was or his followers that had named themselves Death Eaters; now however she knew by one of Severus's very own long lecture that took up almost all of lunch hour.

"But you won't right?" She asked hesitantly.

"Of course not," he denied all to quickly, but she decided to drop it.

Just then, Lily Evans, a Gryffindor second year with pretty green eyes and bright red hair left the Entrance hall and started making her way toward the lake. Severus stared mystified after her.

"Go talk to your girlfriend," Ethel nudged him forward and he stumbled slightly.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Severus seemed defiant but Ethel merely ignored him.

"I'll be in the library finishing my Transfiguration homework, come find me when you're done sniffing your _friend."_ Ethel giggled as she watched her friend go pink around the ears and spit incoherent mutterings as he walked toward the lake. Toward Lily Evans.

Ethel walked silently up to the library, where she opened her Transfiguration book and begin her homework once again when she was again interrupted, this time by a face she had only seen in the halls.

"Malfoy, why this is a surprise, what could a man like you want with a child like me?" She asked never really looking up from her book for long.

"As you very well know this is my last year and as such I forbid you to go near Snape ever again, if it weren't for my help and some of my colleagues he would have gone completely against the Dark Lord all for you and that Mudblood girl."

As in his usual temper, though she had never experienced it herself but knew what it was like thanks to Severus she was able to meet his anger with a level head.

"Malfoy, as much as you are intimidating that is all you are, you have nothing to back you up, I mean your father barely notices you, how sad that must be. But I am afraid I will not stop being Severus's friend just because you said so."

He hurled a bunch of curses at her from left to right but she barely bat an eye. She started to fill out the next step for her homework.

"Are you done?" She asked calmly as Malfoy had stopped but was still seething with anger.

When he didn't answered she continued, "I do not mean to offend of course but those are just my views and as you said you will be gone this year, so that means I won't have to deal with your idle threats until I become a full fledged witch in six years."

"How dare you talk to me that way you- you-" but he stopped.

"You don't even know what to call me because my parents are dead and you don't know anything of my lineage, now Mr. Malfoy I will say that I need to leave and grab some things from my dorm. I will see you later." She said packing up her things.

"My Father will hear about this!" He hollered.

At that Madam Pince snapped at him and told him if he were to utter another syllable he would be banned from the library for a week.

"I'm sure he will Malfoy, I'm sure he will." She left, rolling her eyes.

 **A: Been a while but here you go, hope you enjoyed and if you did please leave reviews.**

 **Love ya :3!**

 **-Maddie**


	5. Chapter 5: Strange Little Moments

Ethel walked around the Ravenclaw common room inspecting the constellations on the ceiling for what must have been the third time that day.

She found herself doing that a lot lately, searching for answers among the stars, perhaps a riddle to interest her, but the stars stayed silent. Pity.

Her cat wound itself around her feet and purred quietly, she picked him up, his fur felt soft under her fingers, he had the faint smell of cinnamon though she had no idea where that came from.

She tried reading but had come across nothing to read, which was strange for her, she had never experienced anything like this before.

She was experiencing boredom, perhaps she would write an essay on boredom and therefore it would cure the feeling. But even that sounded dismal and unentertaining.

"Shall we go see Severus, Leo?"

The cat meowed in response to his name.

"Yes, that does sound nice." She said, scratching the cat behind the ear as she left the common room.

After searching the grounds outside of the castle Ethel had walked up to the library, finding Severus in the corner of the library hunched over a book.

Ethel felt a slight tug at her lip, she walked up to him, "isn't reading books more of a Ravenclaw trait?" She asked.

Severus jumped at the sound of her voice, "Merlin- don't scare people like that!" Snape whispered.

She smiled and sat down next to him, he scooted farther away, she decided not to bring this up. Severus was one who valued personal space.

"I decided to come say hello, I was rather bored." Ethel shrugged.

"A Ravenclaw bored? Don't you have some new spell or potion to test out?" Snape scowled.

"There are only so many books you can read over again before you don't want to read anymore Snape." She pointed out.

"I find that very hard to believe." He said.

"You don't believe in anything you can't find in a book." Ethel whispered as Madam Prince gave her a look from behind her desk.

"Fair enough." Severus gave in.

"So how's life in Evan's land?" She asked.

"Evan's land?" He echoed in confusion.

"You know. Your girl. Have you made a move or not?"

"She's not my girl first of all and second I do not intend to make a move on her at all."

"I sincerely doubt that. That girl has had you wrapped around her little finger as tightly as I have ever seen." Ethel smirked.

There was a comfortable silence and Ethel swung her feet under the table.

" You're boring me." She complained.

"I'm sorry but I need to do my History homework. Go run along and do something else if I bore you." Snape snapped.

"Geez don't get your knickers in a twist. I'll leave." She got up and left Severus in his brooding corner.

She left the castle, feeling drawn to the woods. She hadn't realized how dark it had gotten, it couldn't have been all that late right? Is it possible she slept in?

She watched as the forest cane alive, things chirped and moved in the distance, magical herbs glowed faintly giving the whole view a haunting feeling. A twig snapped and her head swiveled sideways.

"Hello?" She called into the forest. No response. Whether she was expecting one or not Ethel did not know.

She took a hesitant step forward, the chirping noises stopped. She looked behind her, no one. Strange, she felt as if she were being followed.

"Go away!" Someone screamed suddenly.

Ethel ran forward to see if anyone was in trouble.

Her wand steady in her hand she whispered, " _Lumos."_

She understood why she felt as if she were being followed. She was being followed.

The wolf growled, its hackles raised. It took a step forward and Ethel took a step back. It took a faster step forward and Ethel stumbled over a root trying to get away from it.

When she let out a small squeal, the wolf stopped as if perplexed by the noise. Then it sat down as if obeying an order. Ethel watched with fascination, she took a step forward and the wolf lunged.

 _"Petrificus Totalas!"_ She screeched and the wolf fell awkwardly frozen to the forest floor.

Ethel ran out of the forest, panting and chest heaving, "Merlin what have I done?" She managed between gulps.

She shouldn't have been out there in the first place, what had drawn her there? What had convinced her it was okay?

She didn't stop running until she reached the Ravenclaw common room, where she locked herself up on her fourposter bed, closing the curtains to tell everyone that she did not want to be talked to.

Leo curled up on the bed and purred, butting his head against her hand, trying to leach away all of her attention. Ethel complied, petting the cat behind the ears.

"I.. I think I just met a werewolf, Leo." She managed looking at her calendar in the bedside table. It showed that it was scheduled to be a full moon.

She grabbed her quill and hesitantly marked off the day, her hand shaking.

 **A: I know it's been forever since I've updated this story, but here you go! I hope you are and if you are please leave a review and tell me what you think.**

 **-Maddie**


	6. Chapter 6: Nightmares

She was standing in the Forbidden Forest yet again for the second time, but it was not dark, at least outside the woods anyway. With its dense canopy, it might as well have been late afternoon, early nightfall in the forest.

She felt as if she were being watched, but this time by a different creature. Ethel didn't know how she knew it was different, but she knew and that's what mattered. This animal was large, powerful and scary. It liked to stalk its prey slowly from the bushes.

The hair stood up on the back of her neck. She turned and there stood a black panther. Its eyes looked golden and fierce in the dark lighting, its muscular form tense and apprehensive, as if at the slightest movement it would run away or spring at her and kill her.

But Ethel did not run away from the animal. She felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if she had seen those gold-amber eyes before. Somewhere in a distant memory, but everything was so foggy.

Suddenly the animal spoke, but without moving its lips. It was conveying its thoughts through her mind.

"You are cursed. Like I was. Like every woman in the family. You will die an animal. As I will." It said. The voice was a woman's voice. Pleasant, but almost haunting with the words she spoke.

"I..I don't understand," she managed.

"What is there not to get, girl! You are not human! Your fate is worse than that of even a werewolf's!" It screamed. The cat started to move towards her. Ethel took a step back, her hand reaching for her wand only to realize it wasn't there. Stupid! Why did she come in the Forbidden Forest without her one weapon?!

"You will suffer! Walk the earth without your loved ones! Without your friends!" The woman's voice continued to scream.

"Why are you angry with me?!" Ethel found herself asking, her voice cracking under the strain of her tears.

"I am not angry with you. I am sorry for you." The panther said softly. Ethel looked up only to realize that the panther was gone and so was the Forbidden Forest. She was in the girls lavatory on the second floor. The bathroom no one used because a girl died there a decade or so earlier and believed it to be haunted with the girl's ghost.

There written in blood on the bathroom mirrors were:

Monsters deserve to die! and A daughter is always like her mother!

She screamed and ran out of the bathroom locking the door, the words echoing in her head.

She woke up to a girl standing over her. The girl had her hands on Ethel's shoulders. Ethel recognized the girl, it was Angelina, their Prefect.

"You alright there Jones? You gave your bunk mates a scare screaming about blood like that." Angelina looked worried.

Ethel wiped the sweat off her brow, "Yes, I think I'm fine. But just to be sure can you direct me to Mcgnagall's office?"

After getting dressed and realizing it was Saturday and not having to worry about classes, Angelina walked Ethel to the deputy Headmistress's office. Once Angelina left Ethel stared at the door.

An ominous feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach, a feeling that once she told Mcgnagall about her dream, everything she thought the world to be would change.

She knocked tentatively on the door and prayed to Merlin that Mcgnagall was not in her classroom. Imagine her dismay when she heard the strict woman's voice.

"Come in."

Ethel cursed quietly, but it was too late to turn back, she opened the door. Mcgnagall was sitting behind her desk, graded papers and other things were strewn across the wood, Ethel took a hesitant step forward.

"I'm not going to bite you, you know. Come in and speak with me." The woman said encouragingly.

She practically jogged to the teacher's desk, not wanting to waste any more time dilly dallying, it did take a little bit of courage, which she did not expect herself to have any.

After all the courageous acts were for the Gryffindor and the social awkwardness was reserved for the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff crowds.

"Yes, Professor. Sorry, I'm not all that sociable. Um.. I came to speak with you about a dream I had?" It wasn't really a question, but Mcgnagall answered it anyway.

"While I find nothing wrong with you asking me questions, I do find it rather odd that you didn't go to your Head of House." She remarked, placing her quill down, only for the quill to magically hold itself up and resume grading her papers.

"Normally I would, in no offense to you of course, Professor, but my dream was very complex. You see I didn't go to Professor Flitwick because my dream involved me talking to a panther and the panther was shouting at me about all these awful things. And it's reoccurring as well and I don't know if that means anything or not." She quickly rambled out.

"And because my Animagus is a cat, you assumed I could help you?" The way she phrased it, Ethel was suddenly afraid that she was wrong when coming to Mcgnagall. But she nodded anyway.

"Please explain." The Headmistress gave Ethel her full attention. So the eleven-year-old took a deep breath and ranted her reoccurring nightmare.

When she was done, after what seemed like ages, Mcgnagall was quiet.

"Professor?" She asked tentatively.

"Have you ever heard of a Maledictus, Miss Jones?" Mcgnagall's voice was sad, Ethel shook her head.

"It.. it is a fate no one wishes upon anyone." The teacher continued, she wasn't feeling any better.

"It is a curse, passed down by blood. It mainly runs through the women of the family. One of your parents must have been a witch or wizard at least." Mcgnagall's voice still remained sad and grave.

"What do this curse entail, Professor?" Ethel asked.

"You say in the dream, it was a black panther was it?"

She nodded.

"Then I'm afraid... you will be trapped in a panther's body when you die. You see, the curse, it allows you to transform into a panther at will, at first. But..." The teacher trailed off.

"I will eventually become a prisoner in my own skin." Ethel finished.

"I am afraid so, yes." Mcgnagall nodded.

Ethel was very calm, she took a deep slow breath.

"Are you alright, dear?"

"Yes, I think so, Professor. I view this as a way for me to enjoy my moments even more." Ethel managed. Then without another word, she turned and left Mcgnagall's classroom.

 **A: It has been a hot minute since I've updated,but here you go. Please leave a review!**

 **-Maddie**


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